Report on the Haiti School Project Expedition

(Watch for pictures coming soon!)

Day 1

Bon voyage breakfast in Verona at Trinity United Church. Thank you Verona and all our supporters that came out to wish us well. Nice trip to Ottawa up thru Westport and Perth and in along Hwy 7. Linda mentions a gift from a psychic reading - expect a few "bumps" on your journey but all is going to be well. The Love you show will come back ten fold..

Arrived at our hosts, Rob and Nancy's home, unloaded and repacked bags in preparation for flight. ( Note to travelers in groups be aware of what goes where , more on this later) Decided to go to Hy's for dinner, Lise's granddaughter joined us we were introduced to the staff and received congratulations for our efforts to date and were comped on the Dinner much to our delight. When in Ottawa for the Best Steak and Service Hy's is the place

Ordered a Limo to the airport as with the bus strike all Taxis are not taking advance bookings we could not get a Van either, cost for Limo was 3 dollars more than cab costs provided.

Early to Bed as reveille is at 3:30 AM Limo arriving at 4:00 for airport.

Day 2 - Sunday

4:00 AM Our "limo" arrives, We weren't aware of the advances in limo design. They now look exactly like crew cab heavy duty 4x4's, too early in the morning to argue or delay for check in time, Suitcases in the back uncovered, passengers in the front ( nice leather seats though)and away we go. ( not sure if this a "Bump")

Surprise, surprise we are the first in line for baggage check in, half an hour later the clerk arrives and the baggage is checked ( surprisingly all close to the correct weight.), Security check reveals interesting facts , Safety shoes really light up metal detectors and if you are carrying large amounts of currency in small bills they will also create a reaction from the wands. ( picture Kevin arms outstretched in socks with Canadian currency in one hand and US in the other, border agent with wand between his legs ... not sure what they were checking for there)

Uneventful flight to Toronto deplane and retrieve luggage, we proceed to the US customs check point. Metal dectors and xrays are funny things, Shoes don't light up on US detector, Money does and Rivets on jeans are bad as well.

Remember the repacking last night? Well someone had grabbed two metal water bottles from a check in suitcase and stuffed them in a carry on bag ... Xrays will pickup metal objects in a backpack, they will also pick up anything that might be packed in the bottle for safety. Things like large tubes of toothpaste ( you know the ones that are definitely over the "legal" size for carry on ) so when asked what was in the bottles the response was "nothing" as the carrier wasn't aware that anything was in them.

Very tense 20 Minutes while US Border agents inspected carry on Threatened Jail for "lying" and attempted "smuggling" . Finally allowed to proceed after surrendering toothpaste in question ( Inspection agent could certainly have used the toothpaste).This was certainly a Bump

Proceeded to gate to await flight to Fort Lauderdale. Flight uneventful. Arrive Claim baggage and call for shuttle pickup, proceed to pick up point, really looking forward to arrival at hotel as a swim and shower will feel great. Watch in disbelief as empty shuttle drives by without stopping, ok will be another shortly, 30 min later shuttle pulls up just about full, we open up the rear door and are discussing the possibility of loading the baggage and sending some of the team ahead with the driver and are interrupted by loud Cowboy ( expensive boots, western coat, large silver buckle, toothpick in his mouth and of course the really big hat) who proceeds to load up his luggage, then tells the driver to "mount-up" in that oh so sweet southern drawl. Driver promises to send shuttle in next 15 minutes. 45 minutes later next shuttle arrives half full we load up and get to hotel. After discussion with Hotel manager room is discounted and breakfast bags provided.

Dinner is on the patio of the local marina restaurant, then back to the hotel for another early night.

Day 3 Monday

We meet the rest of the group in the hotel lobby at 3:30 AM to get to the airport and check in for flight to Haiti. Oddly enough all this requires is weigh in the bags, weigh the passengers ( on the same scale) and then eventually board the aircraft. ( No metal detectors at all )

The Plane holds all our group ( just ) there is no need to fight for window seats as we all have one ( there were only two rows of seats and a small aisle down the middle) and we have to duck as we walk down the "aisle" ( Note to future travelers- Small jump style seats do not really compensate for having window seat on two and a half hour plane rides). Most of us picked up on some of our missed sleep over the last two days.

Arrived at 9:15 Am to Haitian Customs, No metal detectors, No Magic wands, Just one very pleasant fellow with a large rifle and side arm. He only seemed interested in the medical supplies and was about to confiscate about 10 bottles of Tylenol due to an expiration date of Feb 09. ( there was mention that any prescription drugs could not be within 15 days of expiration but not regular medications). He was convinced by the doctor and nurse that they were still ok for use. Once he perused the bags containing the medical supplies he waved the rest of us right through.

Leaving the terminal ( very small 50x50 building) we exited thru an alley way of chain fence and barb wire on to the street to be picked up by our hotel vans/pickups. ( did you know you can stack 15 very large suitcases in the back of a pickup ... so long as you have two people on the sides of the truck to stop them from tipping over that is).

The Drive to the hotel took about 15 minutes@ 10-40 KM/H, ... for those travelers who are faint of heart might we recommend a back seat in the van/truck of your choice.

The "boulevard" consisted of two lanes of pavement with 4-5 lanes of traffic, sidewalks were also an approved lane for traffic. Apparently right of way is decided by who has the loudest horn, the best acceleration and occasionally the best brakes. Surprisingly there appeared to be very little damage on most of the personal cars and trucks, the Tap taps ( a unique form of private transportation consisting of mostly pickup trucks converted with benches in the back in to which pile as many people ( upwards of 10-15 ) as possible) were in pretty good shape although with all the bright paint and slogans painted on them it was hard to tell.

We happen to be riding with the Owner of the Hotel and I make the request of dropping by a lumber store so that we can make arrangements for the purchase and delivery of need supplies, we are introduced to Mr. Max Laroche the owner of the largest building supply company in the city are presented with his personal card and have an appointment for early Tuesday morning to make arrangements.

The Mont Joli hotel is a 3 star ( the highest rated in Cap Haitian) which is built into the side of the mountain or more accurately perched on the side of the mountain over looks the city and bay. The rooms are large and the accommodations neat and tidy.

On our arrival a breakfast was set out for us. Fresh pineapple slices, mango, and bananas along with eggs, bacon , French toast, with fresh ground coffee and fresh Grapefruit juice was exactly what was needed after the flight and ride to the hotel.

At 12:30 our vans arrived to take us to the Village of Grison Garde . the Village is about 15-17 miles from the hotel, on a good day we are told it will only take an hour to get there. We load up the cases of medical supplies for the clinic in the back of the covered pickup and the school team takes our back packs with basic supplies as we have not much else to take as our shipment has been delayed at sea ( we hope to have it Wednesday) 5 of us get in the pickup truck and 8 into the Van and away we go

Now the driving experience from the hotel was an exercise in excitement, anticipation, physical exertion and frustration. Nothing could have prepared us for this first excursion into the Haitian culture.

Picture the same two lane boulevard but now unpaved with deep 6' concrete storm ditches on one side, pot holes and "washboard" up to two feet deep ( or more accurately watch a driving commercial where they are testing the suspension of a 4x4 on a test track ... the roads here are in worse condition than the designed course.....and this is within the city ) and on the other side a side walk with houses and businesses beside the roads, now add in the same 4-5 lanes of traffic, people, dogs, goats, cows, and horses. Did we also mention the piles of garbage, old wrecks and impromptu repair shops, venders and children.

Within 15 minutes of leaving the hotel our second van had engine problems, after a 5 minute repair utilizing a tire iron to place a belt back on a pulley we were off again.

The colors of the buildings and the brightness of the clothing against the dust and dirt of the road is a vivid contrast of the pride and poverty of the people who live here. Every where you look you see the lack of material wealth yet every school child is dressed in a crisp white shirt well turned out pants and a bright white smile.

Yes there are the others that are not as well kept but even they seem to have a dignity that rises above their situation. There is nothing wasted, everything is reused until it can no longer be used, unfortunately at that point it ends up on the ground in a pile or on the street.

10 minutes later we are again stopped to fix the belt, it is a good thing we are traveling in a convoy as we acquire a crowd of curious people every time we stop. While we are never threatened the large crowd is sometimes unnerving in their requests for food and money, luckily our US Haitian counter parts are able to reply to the requests and deflect the brunt for us non French / Creole speaking Canadians.

Out of the city the roads become less congested with traffic but even more decrepit to the point where we are traveling at 10 KMPH and being bounced up and down and from side to side as our driver veers from one side of the road to the other on his whim and better condition of the road at any given time

We have left the main hwy and are now on the dirt road that will take us up to the town, again we are forced to pull over to repair the belt .During the repair process we get out to stretch and we are visited by this young boy who has been out hunting frogs he carries his catch ( 8 good size ones ) his fishing pole and a pair of blue handled scissors, when some of the medical team approach him and ask to take his picture he Smiles broadly is very impressed to see his picture while this is going on a number of other children appear from nowhere and are wanting their picture taken they ask for no money and are very happy with the Chiclets and chocolate they are presented with. With Smiles all round we are again on our way.

....opps that third time with the tire iron was the last for the poor belt it finally gives up the ghost about 2 miles ( 4KM ) down the road. This time we are in the middle of a small village, the driver of the van calmly takes out the battery ( so the van can't be stolen or maybe so the battery won't be stolen), has the second driver tells us that they will be back in 10 minutes with another van.

At this point we are somewhat concerned about being left in the middle of nowhere with no transportation, but our US friends aren't alarmed so we get out to wait for their return, Its at this point some one points out all the meds are in the back of the truck that just left,....

The trip to get the replacement van was to be 10 minutes, ( at this point we are just starting to appreciate exactly what the term "Haitian Time" is ... basically when ever it happens regardless of any planning you might have done. This is one of the most frustrating traits here as we have been planning for months and we have our agenda on how we are going to accomplish everything in 1 week, the lack of coordination can be very frustrating) 45 minutes later the truck and the new van arrive, in the interim we have been mobbed by young children wanting to see the "blancs" and have spoken through our host with a couple of adults.

We all pile in to the vehicles to continue our journey to the school. We arrive @ 3:15 pm without further mishap. For those of you who are wondering about the medical supplies in the back of the truck they were untouched and arrived intact.

On our arrival we are greeted by the director of the school and his wife who runs the sewing class and some of the teachers. We tour the school and grounds and are stunned at what we find, its much worse than anything we have been shown or read in the preliminary reports, we have many requests on top of what we have planned for. The school yard is a shambles of garbage, broken glass, and cow pies ( apparently the locals bring their cows in and stake them out to eat the good grass), There are no longer windows or shutters on many of the windows, the roof is caved in at one end of what was supposed to be the kindergarten class room, the interior stairs to the third floor are almost to the point of being dangerous ( many of the treads are broken and split and they all flex as you step on them as they were made out of 1" thick boards. The director would also like a new office if we can find the time. When we inquire about help from the local parents we are told it won't be a problem depending on what we are offering to pay ...

It seems the former priest was very lax in the upkeep and was busy misappropriating funds, he is no longer with our school but has been moved on to another position in another town.

We are shell shocked, between the living conditions of the general population and the extreme misrepresentation we don't know whether to scream in anger or cry with frustration. It is a long long drive back to the hotel and a good dinner.

Day 4 Tuesday

After about 4 hours of sleep ( the other hours were busy revamping and redesigning approaches to tackle the various projects despite the "Bumps").

Breakfast ( served @ 7:00 am ) was an interesting affaire with Creole spaghetti, French toast, bacon and eggs, fresh fruit and the best coffee we have ever tasted.

We are informed that our shipment will not be in today but probably tomorrow, Well that puts a spike in our wheels as all our tools and supplies ( save the two cordless drills, drill bits and the 30 pound box of screws in Kevin's suitcases) are in the shipment.

The medical team and Lise and Monique head off to the school while Kevin Linda Heather and Father Acnays ( the priest 13 years ago before the last one who is no longer there ) head to Maison Laroche for acquisition of building supplies. We decide to purchase a skill saw if we can locate one along with a rake, shovel and painting supplies, brooms, concrete and wood.

Max is a great host, we are escorted into his office where we spend the next 2 hours to order what we think we will need, we have to revamp our ordering list as many of the items we designed out building project around are not available in Haiti. For instance all the lumber is rough cut and is actually the correct measurements ( a 2x4 is really 2"x4" ) they don't carry deck screws but do carry nails and we also order a truck load of sand for the cement work and to help level the school yard. During our meeting the requirements are changed in mid request when a wooden door is switched to a metal one. With all the changes for necessary materials and new tools we are now 800.00 dollars over our planned budget, a quick dip into personal traveling funds and our shipment is guaranteed for delivery for later today. Max gives us a card with his personal number and tells us to call at any time if we need anything. ( He may come to regret this )

We post a guard on the truck as we make trips back and forth across the "boulevard" with our paint supplies, and tools. While we load the truck a young lady approaches us and hands us a leaflet. A general strike and protest is to be held Tomorrow (Wednesday) from 5:00am to 6:00Pm the major Highway between Cap Haitian and Port au Prince is to be shut down and no traffic will be allowed to move. This is in protest of the poor road conditions ( we agree whole heartedly after just two trips on the "Highway" ) we hope it will have little or no impact on our plans.

We finally arrive at the school to the news that our medical team ( composed at this point by 3 nurses and 1st yr resident) arrived to find a young lady lying on the clinic floor being attended by a local midwife who was about to give birth, the delivery was very quick and the mother was in very serious condition and at one point was not expected to live.

One of the medical team assistants was dispatched to another medial clinic down the road to get some IV's ( they charged her 50 Dollars US for one) With the IV and other aids they stabilized her and were able to discharge her later in the day with instructions to go to the hospital or return to the clinic the next day, it turns out her only way home at that point was by "taxi" which was a motorcycle ( we'll pause while you wince in shock and sympathy) , we arranged for one of our drivers to take her home and pick her up the next day for a return check up. Mother and Baby girl ( 5 pounds and 6 ounces) are doing well.

As we have no lumber to work with we decide to tackle one of our "request projects" the new kitchen area needs a coat of paint and some cement work, the school yard needs a good cleaning and we need desperately to accomplish something to boost our spirits.

Lise and Monique tackle the yard with the help of many children ( most who don't attend the school but are quite curious about what these crazy blancs are doing) while Linda, Kevin, Heather and Gislen ( one of our Haitian US hosts) start to paint the new kitchen area.

Within minutes the paint crew are surrounded by a group of curious people and they just start helping out, we have the room painted in no time and are pleased that with so little effort we have made a huge difference in both the kitchen and school yard with all our helpers.

Linda made a friend when the gentleman who was helping her paint noticed the paint on Linda and pointed it out , she in turn took her finger and wiped a large streak off his forehead where upon he took his finger and put some on her's, Game on the two of them looked quite fetching in their new "makeup". We decided that we are not going to have the time to spare for a cement project of filling holes and building stairs so a local mason is requested for a quote, the first quote is for 150.00 as he wants us to pay 7.00 USD per block and his labor on top of that. Linda makes a "polite suggestion" in English and goes back to haggling through an interpreter. Final price is 80.00 for everything to be completed upon our return the next day before he gets paid.

Monique and Lise collected over 10 bags of garbage and several of the cow pies produced a satisfying "splat" when heaved over the barb wire fence into the woods. Their helpers were rewarded with lollipops for their efforts and the big smile were a bonus for the rest of us. ( sadly most of the wrappers ended up on the ground rather than in the garbage bags)

We decided to have some fun now that a little of the work was completed and pulled out some Frisbees, they had no idea what to do with them but weren't long in picking up the game once they were shown, by Linda ans Lise it was a little hard at first to control the mob approach to getting the Frisbee but finally got them to line up and throw it back and forth.

In the middle of the Game a loud diesel engine is heard coming up the hill to the school and in pulls this huge dump truck with our lumber, our group looked as happy as the kids with their candy when they started to unload. Now we can get something accomplished.

Linda starts marking up 2x4's while Kevin set up the Skil saw and work area, as soon as the boards are ready for cutting Linda starts to move them to the work location while 6 or 7 men looked on ... Wrong thing to do ... Linda looks up at one gentleman, smiles to get his attention then tosses the board at him and points to Kevin , With a startled look he catches it and the process is begun , Linda soon has two men moving boards, one helping her mark them up while two more are assisting Kevin by holding and moving the cut pieces. ( even the school director has pitched in) Within an hour and a half we have cut the necessary lumber for the stair repairs, Most of the book cabinets and some of the shelves. We finish the day by loading everything into a locked room for the night. We make a quick decision and pay our 5 helpers and the director 2 US dollars each (apparently this is the standard days wages) for their efforts as they have really made a dent in our work load today. We inform our foreman "Levesque" that we will see him Adue mein ( tomorrow)

We fall into our van for the hour ride back to the hotel, the only thing at this point that's bothering us is our load of sand has not arrived and the mason needs that to start work tomorrow. A phone call to Max puts everything in order as the sand is to be delivered first thing in the morning ( Haitian time not withstanding).

We arrive back at the hotel in good spirits only to find out that we are not going to be-able to travel tomorrow because of the strike as it will be very unsafe in the city on the main avenues and the whole city will be shut down with the police asking everyone to stay calm and remain indoors. We wonder what's going to happen to the sand , our supplies are supposed to arrive tomorrow as well and we have made arrangements to have our workers at the school as well. "Very Large Bump"

Dinner is subdued, with alternate plans being discussed on how we can take the secondary roads or leave before 5:00Am to make our planned day work out.

Day 5 Wednesday

Our drivers have been told not to come to pick us up today due to the strike it is scheduled from 5:AM to 6:00 Pm. We are frustrated about the whole day being wasted, when we have so much to and so Little time available to us. We ask about going to the local market just to get out and stretch our legs and see some local color but are warned that it wouldn't be a good idea. "Bump"

The Local police chief was at the hotel this morning and introduced himself and offered any help should we need an escort if our supplies come in as scheduled but also says if we can avoid the main hwy it would be safer for us.

So we go back to doing next to nothing and chafe at the delay's. The rest of the medical team arrive today with no trouble bringing our merry band up to 20.

We spend the day looking over our inventory list, trying to decide what we are going to try and concentrate on and exactly where we want the boxes unloaded (one main depot or divided into the classrooms)

We get word that our shipment will be in late tonight due to the strike but "WE" need to have a truck arranged to move the shipment from the warehouse to the school. ( where they expected us to have a truck arranged and on standby is beyond our comprehension.) "Very Large Bump we may have to hunt down the pysic and do bodily harm or just hold her for the next winning lottery numbers. "

We had been told all we had to do was to get it to Haiti and everything was to be arranged by the local Pries.....uh huh yep that one again, well doesn't that just rot your socks. Now what are we going to do ... Wait a minute who do we know who has a really big truck.....MAX!!!!!!

A frantic search for the card with his personal number on it and a brief conversation later Max is on his way to the hotel. ( his first question was where are you and is everything ok?)

We are hosting Father Acnays for dinner that night and of course Max arrives half way through the meal and is calling on the cell phone from the hotel bar. He can't possibly come down and see us with two priests at the table as he is in a bathing suit and tank top fresh in off his boat and the beach , we convince him to come down anyway as we need to discuss the delivery charges and possibly some other building supplies. During the introductions it comes to light that Monique B ( our Haitian Team leader ) attended school with Max's mother.

We now have a truck guaranteed for delivery, all that is required is a phone call to set the time of arrival and the delivery location. Oh and the charges for that delivery will be taken care of.

Kevin met an interesting lady at the bar, while visiting with Max, Sasha owns her own company building composting toilets she lives on the top floor of an apartment building where she has her own vegetable garden built from the "soils of her labor" for $2500.00 we can have a double room composting outhouse built.

More planning and discussions if there is anyway we are going to complete this job we are going to have to hire some Haitian helpers. More money to spend but we can't afford not to do this as we have come so far to fail now. We also decided to have a pathway built with the leftover cement from the kitchen and stairs, from the rectory to the school as none of us is fond of the shortcut thru the cactus patch. Before we go to bed the H&L Laundry service goes into action, with the sink and some liquid detergent Linda and Heather do up the last couple days laundry so we will have enough shirts to make it through the week.( our suitcases were so loaded with supplies we had little room for extra clothes we have packed our clothes for the week in small day packs as carry on luggage )

Day 6 Thursday

We wake up and are hoping to really get something accomplished today

It rained last night, we hope the roads will be ok, after breakfast we go to meet our van for the journey . guess what....our group expanded but our transportation has not , we now have 20 people plus 3 suitcases to go this morning. 13 go in a van designed for 10 and 7 plus the suitcases go in a van designed for 6. It is not a happy group in either van. We finally arrive at the school, pile out of the cars and stretch cramped muscles.

Because of the heavy rain through the night and it's still continuing the children don't go to school, so we will not be able to see the classrooms working today again.

Heather , Lise and Monique go to work at the school while Kevin and Linda head back to the "Shop" . The Workers have returned and are waiting for something to do. The mason has completed most of the work which is a big improvement over what was there.

During the re planning session there were changes to the design of the cabinets and book cases, 2x4 framing is overkill for what we are building so Kevin decided to try and rip the 2x4's down to 2x2's, this is accomplished by marking a line down the center of the 2x4 using another 2x4 as a guide, then using the skil saw as a table saw ,( Kevin holds the saw stationary while two other workers move the board thru the saw.) It is a slow process but seems to work ok . Once the technique is shown Leveseque and two of his crew settle into ripping up 2x4's at a good pace while Kevin and another man start measuring the cross cuts

Lunch is served in the rectory every day for the teams ( Canadian and US) but the teachers and workers are not included. We decided that we can't eat while our new friends and workers do not so we ask one of the seminary students what the cost of a dinner and soda would be and are informed 5.00, So we send him off to the market with 40 dollars to buy food and drinks.

The workers are stunned as no "boss" has ever bought them lunch before. Each man carefully eats about a 1/4 of the food and then brings in 3-5 children who get the rest of the dinner. So 8 meals end up feeding about 40 people.

Linda identified our little pick pocket today ( she had 5.00 lifted out of her pants pocket on Tuesday, so she put some sharp pointy screws in the same pocket today ) apparently one of the grade 5 students now has some holes in the ends of his fingers. ( we forgave Linda the smile as she told the story of him running away shaking his hand ) .

Lise, Monique, Heather, Linda and some of the teachers made a vast improvement in most of the classrooms by thinning out the last two gallons of paint and freshening up the walls, its not a lot but its better than what we started with.

Linda, Heather , Lise and Monique plus the medical team visited the church next door in the afternoon. It is a large airy building with lots of intricate tile work. It had been set up for a funeral service that was to be held later that day.

We have been awaiting our shipment today but nothing has arrived yet , so we place a call and find out is it stuck in the mud somewhere along the road and will not be here by the time we are ready to leave. Where have we heard this song before? "Another Bump"

Kevin and His Team of builders completed 8 sets of book shelves ready for the classrooms by the end of the day.

It is a tired bunch of people who fall into the vans at the end of the day for the now familiar trip back through the "moguls" to the hotel for another excellent dinner, we are introduced to "pickelies" this evening ( it is basically coleslaw with a twist, really good marinated hot peppers are added to the mix) and early night to bed.

Day 7 Friday

5:00AM today it's the K&L Laundry service, we manage several tee shirts and two pair of pants before breakfast. More rain today the roads look terrible from the hotel and we are not expecting a quick trip today. The Storm ditches on uphill side of the road are full and also choked with all manner of debris.

Heather completed the decoration of the kindergarten puppet theater with the help of Sheila it looks very bright and cheerful even with the overcast skies. When they show the kids the puppets there is lots of laughter and smiles, all in all a big hit. Linda brought out the Parachute Game today. With John our new Haitian friend/interpreter the children and adults were explained the game. It was very exciting to watch the faces of joy on everyone's face.

The mason has been asked to extend the pathway and level the ground outside the rectory along with adding an extra step to circumvent a dangerous piece of concrete. It is very interesting to see how they mix the concrete with no wheel barrow ( a similar process to making pasta dough ) the mixture is then shoveled into 5 gallon buckets, balanced on the head and transported to the area, that is being leveled.

At about noon the truck bringing our shipment finally arrives ( the shouts of happiness could be heard from one end of the school yard to the other and over the engine noise as well). The shipment fills the back of the large dump truck that brought our building materials on Tuesday ( Thank You Max!!!!).

We receive lots of willing help to take the shipment up the hill to the school is amazing to watch two men pick up a large heavy box and place it on a woman's head to be taken up a 40 degree incline. Within half an hour we have emptied the truck. We are only missing 9 boxes from the shipment ( material for the sewing class, math books, an art easel for the kindergarten class, some cooking implements and a few boxes of school supplies and a two wheeled moving dolly) not too bad for all the "bumps" we've encountered so far ( we have just about adopted the local attitude of "it is what it is" there is no sense in getting upset over things we can not control anymore.

We are serving 14 for lunch today but as before the food is shared and everyone gets something. Today was to be our special lunch with the food being local dishes ( we all donated 5.00 to cover the cost of the ingredients) with all the excitement Kevin was unable to make it up to the rectory for lunch so Linda delivered a plate to him. Kevin then feed three children who showed up after the workers lunch.

All the teachers gather with Linda, Lise, Monique B. and Monique H. and Heather up in the director's office for the greatest Christmas ever, there are many smiles and exclamations of surprise and happiness over all the "presents" and some looks of confusion until some of the items are demonstrated.

They sort the boxes into piles by grade in preparation for dispersal to the classrooms tomorrow. Saturday is normally a day off but with the loss of Wednesday we will need to work Saturday to come close to accomplishing our goals. We now have to cram 5 days of instruction of supplies and teaching methods into 8 hours.

Kevin's builders manage to complete 4 more book case shells and with the addition of the door patterns will make lockable cupboards for the classrooms. At one point he turned to pick up a tool only to find there were non available, they were all being used by the build team under the direction of Levesque, So he started on one of the other request projects of new stairs by marking out and cutting new treads and rails. The new chop saw donated by Linda's husband Don made quite the impression.

By days end most of the material is sorted out, the plans for tomorrow are firmed up.

The road home doesn't seem quite as bumpy as we are buoyed by feelings of actually getting something accomplished today.

Earlier in the week one of our US Hosts had met a little girl in the clinic who was an orphan, she is 9 years old and lives with her aunt as her parents passed away a number of years ago, she is severely malnourished, after that first meeting arrangements were started for an adoption, we received word today that the adoption could be done but the time frame is such that "Carline" will not be able to accompany us home.

The dinner conversation this evening has good stories from all team members on accomplishments in the medical clinic and in the school.

Day 8 Saturday

It is with great expectations and impatience that we eat an early breakfast and jump into our vans this morning.

We arrive and immediately set out upon our designated missions of the day. Linda, Heather, Lise, and Monique head for the school and the waiting teachers to begin assembling the classrooms, They are all going to go to one classroom and then move on to the next, with the overlapping training they will receive, hopefully they will have enough to be able to help each other out if something is not totally clear. ( this is not what we had envisioned but it is the best solution within our limited time frame) .

Kevin's crew starts the day with rebuilding the stairs to the third floor, new supports are nailed on the insides and new treads are then nailed through the old stairs into the supports. With the new two inch treads they should last many years.

Lunch is a large affair with 24 meals being ordered (workers plus the teachers who are in on their day off with no pay).

Today we meet "Carline" she is a petite child and is sitting shaking with cold though she has a ready smile for anyone who speaks to her, Linda Lise and Heather each donate a shirt to help warm her up along with a donated pair of soccer shoes and a Q.E.C.V.I. ball cap to complete her ensemble she starts to warm up and stop shaking. She snuggles into both Heather and Linda with a big smile as she holds her new lion puppet and drinks a small glass of juice.

The school rooms look great with the new book cases filled with books, the students notebooks are piled neatly ready for Monday, some maps and pictures are on the freshly painted walls. The Puppet Theater is installed in the kindergarten room along with the new paint table everyone is enthusiastic and smiles are all around.

Kevin has made arrangements with the director to keep Levesque and two helpers on for 3 days to complete the 8 remaining cupboards, the deal is they will have to complete the cupboards before they are paid their final days wages. All parties are present for the salary negotiations, (Levesque feels he should receive more as he is the "wood boss" and he should also get a cut from the others for the privilege of being picked as the workers. Kevin agrees with the salary amounts to be paid but has reservations on the split ... but when in Haiti ... ). There is also a request from one of the workers that his children don't go to school as he can't afford to send them on what he is going to make and is wondering if maybe we couldn't subsidize his children as a favor, Kevin requests of the director if there is additional work to be done over and above what is being paid for already that maybe there couldn't be an exchange of services for education of the children, the director agrees to consider the possibility. While not the perfect solution to the problem it's the best one we can secure for now.

We have done the best we can with the time and materials available to us. While we haven't accomplished what we set out to do, we feel we have left enough of a foundation for the building to continue ... or so we had thought ... as we were starting to clean up and close down the school we found that several of the classrooms had been pillaged already, we caught one of the children leaving with a handful of supplies and there were other items missing as well.

We closed up the school and returned to the rectory to say our final goodbyes to the director and the teachers along with our workers, when it came time to pay the workers the teachers all wanted to paid as well, the cleaning lady who had been given a few dollars each day also wanted more money and actually went so far as to grab Linda's wallet out of her hands. While it wasn't a full out mob scene it felt very close to one as we pushed our way through outstretched hands and arms all looking for our attention and money, we managed to get to the van and get loaded without any violence but it was very unnerving to say the least.

To add insult to injury on the way home we found out the actual cost of the lunches were actually in Haitian dollars not US as we were lead to believe on the first day. So the actual cost was about 75 cents US per meal, not the 5.00 we actually paid, looks like the old priest has left behind some well learned lessons.

It's upsetting that even though some of the local population benefited from the influx of goods and some benefited from the extra money in wages, it wasn't enough, they had to demand even more and even resort to thievery in their efforts to further themselves at our expense.

We leave Grison Garde with mixed feelings of anger, despair, resignation but also with some small measure of satisfaction for even with all our trials and "Bumps" we have "done our best".

We arrive back at the hotel and retire to our rooms for a shower and then to the patio to reflect on our weeks Accomplishments.

Day 9 Sunday

Wow we actually slept in to 6:30 am, and then turned on the one channel TV for the first time. Watched a movie for an hour before wandering down to breakfast, A leisurely breakfast is followed by a trip to the local Church for Sunday morning Mass, Our visiting Father K from Iowa is asked to participate, The service is very interesting although a little hard to follow as it is in French, Creole and some English.

After church we take a stroll a couple of blocks to the local tourist market, we manage to spend a couple of hours there browsing the wares and avoiding the panhandlers, enjoying the fresh breeze off the water, the give and take of the haggling ( never pay the first price and automatically counteroffer a quarter of what is asked as a starting point, usually if you walk away they will chase you down with an offer of something near what you countered with) All were pleased with their "Deals" with a short stroll we arrive back at the bottom of the very steep driveway of the hotel ( steep enough all cars and trucks are in first gear or they don't make it up the grade) 150 yards of serious uphill trudging we have our weeks cardio and calf workouts completed. Kevin is first followed a close second by Joni .

We retire to consider whether to nap in the room or possibly out on the patio ( do not consider where to nap while reclining on the bed you will not make it to the patio ) . Shortly after starting to nap the phone rings, It's Monique B calling to tell Linda Haiti's Chief Scout has come to call. Linda quickly dons her I.S.G.F. Uniform and goes to meet him.

1st Bayridge A Pack in Kingston had donated some Canadian Cub and Scout Manuals to be presented while we are in Haiti. After explaining about the manuals and the programs here in Canada Linda learns there are 50 troops in operation in Haiti and the Chief Scout is looking for possible volunteers in Grison Garde to help start a troop, we provide Leveque's name as a contact point.

From that meeting we move to the Agricultural meeting where we meet with Joslin, he is a local student who was sent to college by our US CASAHGA hosts in return for teaching the children at the school for two years about the raising of crops and chickens. It seems he has been receiving threats from the old priest and is afraid of reprisals, ( we find out later the old priest was less than 100 yards from the church this morning, a couple of prayers for his demise ( permanent or simply removed from the priest hood are offered up ) we are unable to persuade Joslin at this time to show the threatening messages to our friend the police commissioner. ( He fears the police wouldn't allow him to go back and teach, he will approach the new priest and parish to petition on his behalf ) we conclude the meeting by going over the information and program sent down by the Canadian Government Agriculture Ontario for teaching the children. He is to email a report to Linda every month for the next 3 months.

Our last Dinner is a merry one with lots of laughter, and good cheer, even some dancing. Now that we have finished our respective tasks we are looking forward to returning home to our loved ones and our own countries and customs. We return to our rooms and pack our bags in preparation for an early departure tomorrow morning.

Day 10 Monday

Rise and Shine it's Go Home Day!!! We get up have breakfast and are ready to depart the hotel by 9:00 AM it is our hope that seeing as we as a group are taking up the entire aircraft we can persuade the Captain to leave ahead of schedule. We clear immigration and are cleared for take off 1 1/2 hours early.

We arrive in Fort Lauderdale with enough time to change to an earlier direct flight to Ottawa. For the small fee of 50.00 dollars each we arrive home at least 5 hours ahead of schedule. 15 minutes to clear Canadian Customs and we are off to pick up our cars and head home. We arrive home at 11:00 PM. Say hello to our loved ones and topple into bed for a good nights sleep.

We hope this narrative can in someway provide our sponsors, friends and families with a little insight into our adventure. We wish to thank all those who supported us and more importantly the Mission, for without you we would not have been able to accomplish what we did.

What exactly did we do? Did we make a difference? Did we change a life? Did we change an attitude? Did we change our own perceptions? Did we accomplish our goals? Did we represent our Country and yourselves to the best of our ability? Will we return to Grison Garde in two years?

We each have our own answers to these questions and we each have our own doubts and hopes for the continuation of the project.

We all share one absolute common answer to the first question though.

What exactly did we do?

We Did Our Best.

Thank You

Linda, Kevin, Heather, Lise , Monique